I think in general taking an
economics course that is so small was a great challenge. Not many economics
courses are offered where we can have such small discussions and this was definitely
my first take at it. It is so different with it being an economics course
because we have the opportunity to really get critiques not only from the
professor but also from our peers in class. Many of the times, in discussion
classes I take a back seat because I am not always comfortable speaking or
voicing my opinions and sharing my experiences with the rest of the class.
However, having such a small class gave me the opportunity to relate myself
more closely with the topics being covered so that I would not feel this way.
Another great thing about
the structure of this class is that I think I have actually gained something
out of this class. For the most part, in many economics courses I will study
for an exam and then forget 80% of the material from the course after taking
it. However, I do feel that it is different this time only because with every
lecture it was tied to things I could relate to and the professors experiences.
Having class be run that way really allowed me to better understand a lot of
the material rather than just being tested on it where it would only have been
memorized. I think one of my favorite topics was when we talked about having “Illini
Bucks” because there were so many different aspects one had to take into
consideration for a change such as that (and it is something that could
possibly happen). I think that the presentations in class were also a good way
to encourage discussion while at the same time allow us to get innovative and
think of our own experiences to relate to. I really enjoyed working on the
presentations and having the groups be picked randomly like they were in the
very beginning. I think that my group overall worked well together and each
time we met to work on the presentations we all found ways to engage in great
conversations about the topics being covered. All in all I really did enjoy
this course and I learned a lot about the internal structures and how economics
is a key player in all of this. Having this be my first economics course that
is so small in size, I think I really enjoyed it and benefited a lot from
taking this course.
I saw several posts come in at one time. I will comment on the substance of them here and otherwise in Moodle.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand the source of your confidence issues that you mention in the first paragraph, because you seem to be an intelligent and articulate student. Based on how you performed in the team presentation, I do think you'd benefit from slowing down on the ideas that you want to get across and making them a more detailed. That is the way to increase the depth in the arguments you make.
I don't know that the Illini Bucks can really work, but I do believe students are forced to get in line for a variety of things and, as a general proposition, that queuing has a negative impact on student engagement. So anything that could be done to reduce that would be a good thing, in my opinion.